Terra-Cotta

terra-cotta

[¦ter·ə¦käd·ə]

(materials)

A brownish-orange clay used in the production of high-quality earthenware, vases, and statuettes, and for tile floors and roofing.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Terra-cotta

A hard-burnt glazed or unglazed clay unit, either plain or ornamental, machine extruded or hand-molded, usually larger in size than a brick or facing tile, used in building construction.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

terra-cotta

Clay that has been molded in shape and then treated in a kiln at a high temperature; typically reddish-brown in color when unglazed; when glazed, usually colored and used for ornamental work, such as architectural terra-cotta, and for floor tile and roof tile.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Terra-Cotta

 

colored, porous unglazed ceramic ware. Terra-cotta has both artistic and utilitarian significance; it is used to make dishes, vases, sculpture, toys, tiles, facing tiles, and architectural components.

After firing, terra-cotta acquires a characteristic color, from light cream to reddish brown and black, and a texture ranging from granular to fine, with complete or partial polishing. The most important examples of artistic terra-cotta are (1) the minor works of plastic art that were widespread in almost all Neolithic cultures, small sculptured figurines, sarcophagi, statues, and sculpture groups from the Etruscan civilization and from ancient Greece, China, India, and the Americas, (2) architectural components of the archaic Greek, Etruscan, and ancient Roman temples, (3) medieval carved terra-cotta in the architecture of Middle Asia, (4) Italian Renaissance ornamental architectural components and portrait busts done in relief, and (5) statuettes from the 18th century (usually in the rococo style).

In Russia, terra-cotta is known to have been produced in Kievan Rus’. Beginning in the 15th century, terra-cotta was used in Russian architecture in the decorative finishing of facades of brick buildings in Moscow, and beginning in the 18th century it was used in sculptural studies, busts, and other genres. Decorative terra-cotta facings were widely used in Soviet architecture during the 1950’s. In contemporary sculpture, terra-cotta is particularly frequently used for shaping small forms, since it allows the expressive laconism and lively spontaneity of the study to be preserved in the finished work.

REFERENCE

Filippov, A. V., S. V. Filippova, and F. G. Brik. Arkhitekturnaia terrakota. Moscow, 1941.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.